Cab Drivers Tell Me I'm Pretty

No Return Fare

2008-04-23T23:37:00.003-04:00

I've moved to www.cabdriverstellmeimpretty.com

I hope you will move there too.

Move

2008-04-08T06:14:00.002-04:00

This move is moving slowly. So I think I'll still post here. But start thinking about reading this at www.cabdriverstellmeimpretty.com, because that will have to happen soon.

My "mover" is a genius. I forgot to ask him if I can tell you who he is, but I will do that soon-ish too. You should hire him. He solves tech problems like there's no tomorrow.

Moving

2008-04-03T14:31:00.003-04:00

Guess what is happening?
A small move, for me. It's not complete yet, but it will be done soon.

Design advice is welcome.

I like tumblr so much. I might like my tumblr pages better than this one. So we'll see what happens.

6C11

2008-04-02T03:03:00.000-04:00

DATE APR-10-06
So old.

START TIME 06:02 AM
So early.

5M63

2008-03-28T12:32:00.000-04:00

You slept in your car on my corner?

Not Pretty

2008-03-27T23:43:00.000-04:00

I've no new taxi story but I did spend $628.29 at the pharmacy today. And not on makeup. On four prescriptions. Apparently my insurance deductible resets every year. And not on the calendar year. This is a note so that I am not so stupidly shocked when it happens again.

P.S. I met the deductible, so one of the prescriptions was actually at its normal low co-pay price! And it still added up like that.

P.P.S. Note: no one wants to read this, I know. But with a shock like this, I couldn't afford a taxi anywhere, obviously.

For Sale

2008-03-26T21:16:00.005-04:00

I'm so glad you love the gray nail polish. It will be for sale soon. Photos and details to follow. Write to me at cabdriverstellme(at)gmail(dot)com to reserve your bottle.

1W84

2008-03-20T03:46:00.003-04:00

A strip of five receipts is not a present. So, no thank you.

"Newspaper boxes" Or, "who made this art and why is it still so clean?"

2008-03-19T23:59:00.001-04:00

On Grand Street near Ludlow. I wonder if they're new, because they are still pristine. When I worked at the Voice I was always amazed that we had to pay fines if our boxes were defaced. I guess it makes sense, since the Voice owned them, but still, it seemed crazy, because all newspaper boxes are so often destroyed by graffiti and garbage.

1J82

2008-03-18T03:34:00.002-04:00

You don't have license to wish me "sweet dreams" as I slam the taxi door.

On The Anxiety Of Writing About Photography

2008-03-17T06:22:00.002-04:00

I've been asked to write for Jen Bekman's Hey, Hot Shot! blog. So I'll be writing about photography again soon!

On The Anxiety Of Photography

2008-03-13T13:31:00.004-04:00

"Photography can be a neurotic’s worst nightmare. At least if the neurotic thinks about it, and the neurotic does. He thinks too much. The photographer/neurotic gets caught between his desire and his intellect, and therein lies the nightmare. It’s not that desire and the intellect don’t go together, they do."

— From Too Drunk to Fuck (On the Anxiety of Photography), by Mark Wyse

MySpace Can't Possibly Own Credit/Copyright To Your Profile Photos, Can They?

2008-03-12T20:53:00.002-04:00

It's bad enough that the Times relied on MySpace as the main source for their latest scoop on the Spitzer scandal, but to give MySpace a photo credit for each shot taken from the prostitute's page?!

MySpace does not own the photos uploaded to it. Though this doesn't seem like a mistake the NYT wouldn't make. Now I'm curious. I'm going to look into this.

This Office Chair Is More Beautiful Than My Office Chair

2008-03-11T16:26:00.000-04:00

To find out what I mean, go here.

5M26

2008-03-05T16:29:00.004-05:00

"This is my first day," he said with a bravado that barely masked his fear.

"I mean, you're not my first. I go to college. I've been driving for, like, a long time. All day."

"How many fares have you had?" I asked.

"A lot," he said. "Uh, three."

"It's still early," I said.

"Okay, fine, fine, I've only had one. I mean none. No others. You're the one. The only one. You're my first."

He then told me that he loves live music and asked if he could put on some songs for me. I was listening to my ipod, but I nodded.

He played a song that repeated something about "baby, don't you rush, girl, we got the whole night" and a 50 Cent tune that seems to be titled A Little Bit.

Subtle.

The Office

2008-03-04T22:01:00.003-05:00

My first post on Personal Days (the blog of the book by Ed Park) is up. It's about David W. Dunlap's The Office as Architectural Touchstone from Sunday's New York Times.

The Bell Labs campus is near my parents' house. I've always wanted to visit. I don't think you're allowed in.

Reblog

2008-03-02T21:59:00.006-05:00

I haven't switched this blog to Tumblr yet, although as soon as I find someone who knows how to do it, I will. (If you know how or want to do it for me, e-mail, please.) For now, just pretend that I've reblogged this awesome photo below. I love it.

prettystandard:

The slow demise of the DUMBO snowman colony

Black Cab Sessions

2008-02-29T23:56:00.002-05:00

The Black Cab Sessions (here, Spoon and Saint Vincent). I love these and their motto: "One song, one take, one cab." It might be my second-favorite foreign indie rock video series, after The Take Away Shows.

It's time I started my trope, interviews conducted during cab rides. Soon...

Our Blog Could Be Your Life

2008-02-27T06:50:00.005-05:00

How is it possible that every article about Quarterlife isn't titled "Our Blog Could Be Your Life?"

A Nexis search reveals that it hasn't been used even once.

Links, Some

2008-02-26T08:55:00.004-05:00

Something about how I would definitely fall down these stairs.
Something about In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, the anniversary. And Anne Frank.
Something about The Echo Park Time Travel Mart.
Something about liking New Jersey Turnpike tolls.
Something about I recently discovered and now sort of love this blog.

HP73? 73HZ?

2008-02-25T04:31:00.000-05:00

I'm loathe to leave his number, even as I indict him here.
(Also, I didn't take a receipt, so my recall of the number is sketchy.)

Maybe if he wasn't driving around New York with a trunk full of porn, I wouldn't have reason to write about him.

His car was clean.
He helped me with my suitcase.
He ignored my histrionic cell-phone call.

But he kept them in a big, clear trash bag.

Trashy.

Found: You Are An Electro Remix Of A Song About Love & Loss & Redemption

2008-02-22T03:25:00.007-05:00

(Made by shaderlab.)

Things, Some

2008-02-21T03:09:00.000-05:00

Something about festival dailies.
Something about frozen dumplings.
Something about that stranger, leaning against the doors for the entire ride, writing alternating lines in blue pen and in black pen in a tiny notebook, and never messing up, and balancing.
Something about Botox and sweating.
Something about where they keep the carts at night and when it's cold.
Something about this being the block where I lost you.
Something about the bakery staying open for one more holiday's haul.

Things I Don't Understand And Definitely Am Not Going To Talk About

2008-02-20T05:06:00.000-05:00

Things I don't understand and definitely am going to talk about.
Everything.

Backseat Shooter: Football Helmet In Place Of A Hardhat, SOHO

2008-02-15T05:07:00.000-05:00

Broadway, at Houston.

Away Message

2008-02-14T02:18:00.001-05:00

My away message had a link to this blog.
This is what I found when I returned to the computer:

bonniesnow: Jennifer, are you dating a cab driver?!

bonniesnow: I don't understand.

bonniesnow: Why don't you tell me about these things?!

bonniesnow: It's okay if you're dating a cab driver.

bonniesnow: We should talk.

bonniesnow: It's not okay if you're dating a cab driver. It's WEIRD!!!

bonniesnow: Just because a boy tells you that you're pretty doesn't mean that you have to go out with him.

bonniesnow: I tell you that you're pretty.

bonniesnow: I think you should call me.

Girls Are Funnier Than Boys

2008-02-13T02:49:00.001-05:00

Nina is right.
Also funny: Monday night road trips, as a ritual.

Backseat Shooter: 2C68

2008-02-12T06:51:00.000-05:00

There was a kite and a beach and a family and a fight and there was a cab, and it was out of place, and it made them laugh. A little.

Reading In Cabs With...

2008-02-08T02:30:00.000-05:00

"We can never make proper goodbyes. It was your last ride in a Checker cab, and you had no warning. It was the last time you were going to have Lake Tung Ting shrimp in that entirely suspect Chinese restaurant, and you had no idea. If you had known, perhaps you would have stepped behind the counter and shaken everyone's hand, pulled out the disposable camera and issued posing instructions. But you had no idea."

Colson Whitehead, The Colossus of New York,also, New York Times Magazine.

(I'm not sure I know how to write about this essay without being corny. It's super-sentimental, and perhaps overwrought, and I hadn't read it in years — although I'd read it about a million times since I first saw it in the NYT Magazine — when I saw the book, Colussus of New York, in a store recently, and turned right to it, and it definitely made me cry. And so, because it made me cry in the middle of Bookcourt, and because it's still one of my favorite pieces of writing about New York, and because it meets the key criteria of "Reading In Cabs With," i.e. it mentions a taxi, that's why it's here.)

What's So Funny About Brooklyn?

2008-02-07T14:37:00.000-05:00

Ed Park will be at the Brooklyn Public Library tonight. He will read from the forthcoming/awesome Personal Days.
Ed Park is what's so funny about Brooklyn. Even though he does not live here. Perhaps this will be discussed at the event.

Gray Nail Polish Is Not Gross.

2008-02-04T00:33:00.001-05:00

More info here and here.

To The Library, And Step On It!

2008-02-01T05:11:00.000-05:00

Any excuse to use the phrase.

You Are Trying To Break My Heart

2008-01-31T03:40:00.000-05:00

Apparently, “3N23” stands for "I am trying to hit that girl as she crosses Delancey."

Not “hit on.”

Hit.

You Give Girls A Bad Name

2008-01-30T03:12:00.000-05:00

"Do you like me more than dinner?" she asked.
(I should mention: they were clearly on a first date.)

His response, "Dinner as a concept, or this dinner?"

Then, and without hesitation, she started to cry.

He waited what I thought was an appropriate amount of time (two minutes), he put down some money, presumably for the check, and he left.
She sat, still, at the table, and cried.

He doubled back, and handed her a twenty-dollar bill, "For your cab home."

GL41

2008-01-29T01:27:00.000-05:00

GL41?
IL4G?
(sigh)
I've forgotten your number.
But you were sweet, hipster cab driver.
And that song by that band, that has the line about cabs --
do you play it for all the girls?

First Tear To The Table

2008-01-25T03:08:00.000-05:00

I could win this competition. I've practiced, unintentionally, my whole life. I think the video, an outtake from an old issue of Wholphin, is sort of beautiful. (Better than the film they intended to make/the one they included on the actual disk.)

Gray Nail Polish

2008-01-23T01:19:00.001-05:00

I made this nail polish shade in a cab. I first used it on the subway. Nina gave herself a manicure, with it, at Sunny's, a bar in Red Hook, on Saturday night. LZP took the photo. We have a new business.

This Thing = That Thing

2008-01-22T02:29:00.000-05:00

I think I've mentioned that Indexed is one of my favorite blogs. I still can't pick a favorite of Jessica Hagy's aphoristic venn diagrams, but soon there will be a book. Well-designed, sometimes hilarious, sweet, smart, and simple.

Cheaters. Also, Champions.

2008-01-21T02:14:00.000-05:00

The Cheaters Cup is now in the possession of The Fightin' Caziques — Morgan Clendaniel and Gideon Friedman — the winners of 826NYC's Scrabble For Cheaters tournament. They hold the title and the trophy until next year.

More on all the cheaters later at www.826nyc.org.

You Can Buy Your Way Out Of Bad Letters

2008-01-18T03:09:00.000-05:00

Time Out New York's article about Scrabble For Cheaters is out now.

Melena Ryzik give us a sweet shout out in today's New York Times Urban Eye.

The Brooklyn Papers misquoted me, pretty severely. Sigh.

Sign-ups are closed. Sponsor a team. The smackdown is soon.

Annual Manual

2008-01-15T05:53:00.000-05:00

I love Nicholas Felton's Annual Report.
I don't even know Nicholas Felton.

I got one in the mail last year and now I'm hooked. I've had no contact with him or his work in 12 months, and yet I'm excited to find out how many unique taxi routes he traveled, to see a chart of books he read sorted by first publication date, a pie chart of dishes eaten by type (wings, fins, legs, shells), clothes purchased sorted by color, geographic dispositions of the fifty most-played artists on his ipod, etc.

I wish my life was this well-designed.

Scrabble for Cheaters

2008-01-14T00:29:00.000-05:00

The New Yorker mentions it.
Daily Candy mentioned it.
Jason Kottke mentioned it.
And there's more to come in the next few days too.
So now I'll mention it.

Scrabble For Cheaters: a(nother) benefit for 826NYC.

Start a team. Or pledge money to another team. Either way, you'll support cheating, winning, words, etc.

Please.

The Book of Other People: A Benefit Reading

2008-01-08T16:34:00.001-05:00

I hope you will attend.

THE BOOK OF OTHER PEOPLE:
A BENEFIT READING

826NYC & Penguin Books present an all-star reading from Zadie Smith’s newest book of new stories by contemporary authors

Hosted by ZADIE SMITH, and with readings by:
GEORGE SAUNDERS
VENDELA VIDA
and very special guest
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL

Symphony Space
Wednesday, January 16th, 8pm
2537 Broadway (at 95th Street), New York
Tickets available at symphonyspace.org
Or by calling: 212-864-5400

826NYC and Penguin Books present a benefit reading to celebrate the release of THE BOOK OF OTHER PEOPLE, a collection of brand new stories by contemporary authors edited by Zadie Smith. ZADIE SMITH will host this special event, which will feature readings by two of the book’s contributors, GEORGE SAUNDERS, and VENDELA VIDA, plus a rare reading by actress MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL. There will be a book signing and Q & A after the reading.

All proceeds from the book and reading will benefit 826NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

Like Dylan In The Movies

2008-01-04T02:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, I went there.
Yes, I liked it.

1J79

2008-01-02T23:12:00.000-05:00

Every time I sneezed, he passed back a tissue. Even after I answered that it wasn't necessary, that not every sneeze demands a new tissue, or even any tissue, that it was allergies, no, not to the car's leather seats, that I wasn't crying, that I wasn't contagious, that colds aren't caused by the cold weather, that I didn't wish to be dropped at an all-night pharmacy, that perhaps he should close the divider, that he wasn't my mother and so on.

1F93

2008-01-01T22:06:00.000-05:00

Is parked in front of my home, hasn't moved in three days.

Barn Owl, Night Killer

2007-12-18T17:37:00.001-05:00

Maybe I should stick to stills.
(Sufjan Stevens video, on Vimeo.)

Still Embarrassed To Have Been Employed By You.

2007-12-17T18:53:00.001-05:00

Dear Village Voice,

A billboard: bold move. But the cliched and yet appropriate phrase is actually "Bowery bums." Your use of "junkies" is just misguided enough that it renders your attempt at edge and insider status more sad than anything else. Your promo team is based in Denver, I suppose?

Love,
Jen Snow

That's What He Said

2007-12-13T15:13:00.000-05:00

Some people used some sort of digital processing to reveal what is said at the end of Lost In Translation. You can now watch an annotated video.

20 Things You Didn't Know About Snow

2007-12-12T05:15:00.000-05:00

Notes on "watermelon snow," motes of outerspace dust, photographs of snow crystals, and "thundersnow."

Exchange

2007-12-11T00:33:00.001-05:00

I liked it better at the beginning of the ride when no one was under the impression that we had holiday pleasantries to exchange.

"A Prune Is Listening"

2007-12-07T01:07:00.000-05:00

Maybe this beautiful calendar will help me keep track of time?

Response

2007-11-29T00:38:00.000-05:00

Take my number.
Take my number.
Take my number. (You implored.)

If I take your number, I'm going to put it on the internet.

Because I Am Classy

2007-11-27T08:49:00.000-05:00

I can't find my keys.
I left my wallet on the couch.
I'll let you pay for my coffee.
I guess I'll come back.

I'm Not Scared

2007-11-26T02:01:00.000-05:00

If you listened, then you've already subscribed to The New-York Ghost, but even if you didn't listen, you must check out Ed Park in Sunday's NYT. The excerpt they reprinted might be my favorite poem of the year!

The best part —

Midtown musing: If
you stand across 57th so
that you’re looking at the
front of Carnegie Hall,
you’ll notice that the
frieze says: “MVSIC
HALL.” ¶ We like the
old-school V, but we
especially like the quotation
marks. ¶ What was their
purpose? ¶ What did the
builders or the letters
hope to indicate? That
perhaps this was not a
music hall? ¶ That it
might instead be a stable,
or a stocking factory? ¶
That all is uncertainty,
and in years to come, the
structure might be
converted into a parking
garage? ¶ Or do the
quote marks suggest that
the performances to be
held inside were not what
some meddling fuddyduddy
considered
‘music’? ¶ That is not
music, that is the sound of
HOOFBEATS ON
TARPAULIN! ¶ That
was supposed to be our
impression of a
mustachioed aristocrat,
decrying some new fad in
music. ¶ Imagine him
expounding while in a
smoking-jacket. ¶ Okay. ¶
It’s not working. ¶ We
really wish we had a
picture of those
quotation marks.

Another best part —

Best thing that
happened the other day: We
were walking by a school
playground, during recess. Kids
were running around,
screaming, laughing. In one
corner, a teacher gave a
command to a group of girls:
“Robots!” Then they all started
acting like robots, arms moving
rigidly, etc. One-word review:
Hilarious. Seriously, this made
our day — our week — our year.
¶ Our life. ¶ That’s going too
far.

That's a large bit of the piece, but now you will read it and you will subscribe and you will print it out each week at work, right? Note: when The N-YG started, I had neither a real job nor a real printer, but I figured it out. You should too!

Sigh

2007-11-21T06:36:00.000-05:00

I'm just as tired of it as you.

Faux Sugars, Real Suspicion

2007-11-19T01:29:00.000-05:00

"Sweetener skeptics, on the other hand, say that safety studies are often funded with industry dollars..."

(L.A. Times)

Backseat Shooter: Unnecessary Parade

2007-11-15T02:28:00.000-05:00

aka Stop in the Name of Love

'I Am Your Waiter Tonight and My Name Is Dmitri'

2007-11-13T23:59:00.000-05:00

Was it asking for a low-level amount of trouble by putting Chistopher Hitchens just after Robert Hass at the National Book Awards Finalist Reading? Since this seems to be shaping up as "superficial worry about the war week" here, I mention this incident too. Hass's poem — "I Am Your Waiter Tonight and My Name Is Dmitri" — was amusing, and Hitchens wasn't entirely wrong in his tiny tirade. Some of the crowd hissed, which seemed stupid, but then so is making sweeping statements about what you wish and don't wish a room full of writers might join you in believing. Both men tried to rally some sentiment in an audience not otherwise interested in seeing the podium as a platform of any sort.

Another NBA note: after today's proceedings, I now really want to read Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This morning, the finalists in Young People's Literature had an entire auditorium of students entranced. There was actual hooting and hollering, which was certainly more inspired than the ninny hissing that happened when the adults were gathered later in the night. (Photos, of all of this, the above fake fracas too, soon.)

What Did You Do During The War?

2007-11-09T16:11:00.000-05:00

Choire Sicha is smart. He was helpful to me during my art writing days, when he worked at Debs & Co. and I was researching Nina Katchadourian, and now I'm really glad to see his sometime series — What Did You Do During The War? — on an otherwise nonessential of late Gawker. Photos and captions, simple juxtapositions, and that's it. It's like a good poor man's Martha Rosler and it's by far the best thing I've seen on Gawker in a long time. I'd read a whole blog of it, if he posted them every day.

In The Hermitage You Would See This Bow On This Woman

2007-11-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

"Knowing that, how could anyone want a war? Or plastic surgery?"

(Maira Kalman's The Principles of Uncertainty is very good.)

The BQE (Sans Arrests)

2007-11-02T04:06:00.000-04:00

The BQE can be pretty, and civic pride is possible, and I'll have more photos and more to say soon. For now, just a few, of Sufjan and co. And this, which is brief, and shaky, and sort of my first video try:

Backseat Shooter: What's The Word For That?

2007-10-31T06:34:00.000-04:00

Who Knew + Since U Been Gone = BFF

2007-10-26T19:52:00.000-04:00

I admit, I like this song in almost exactly the same way I liked this song. Wholeheartedly and on repeat at the gym and even those times I hear them and they (inexplicably) make my eyes tear-up a bit. I know nothing about music but I think they might share something in their structure too.

Hit "play" on both of those at the same time. The videos even have a similar number of seconds of "just doing stuff to set the scene before my song starts" noise before they begin. Both have the same type of build-up of the verses and then crescendo-ing choruses, they both repeat a phrase a few times at the end of each song. They are the same song. And so, I do not feel as bad that I'm so taken with both.

G9

2007-10-25T17:46:00.000-04:00

I bought a new camera.
I forgot to tell you.

Blind Item

2007-10-19T04:13:00.001-04:00

Almost literally. Who impulse bought a pair of glasses today? And whose new glasses happen to be branded by an Aaron Spelling tv show? A bit of Googling revealed that no character on the show actually wore glasses, although this pair is named after "Jake."

Holder

2007-10-18T02:34:00.000-04:00

Here is where I admit that I had trouble following the directions on the back of the pack of ponytail holders. Do I have more respect for the medium now? No. Now I hate them even more.

Font

2007-10-17T13:02:00.000-04:00

An astute friend pointed out this post on Curbed, or, more precisely, he pointed out the handwriting on the sign taped to a stolen bike in a photo in a post of Curbed; with only tiny exceptions (the "a," the "y"), that sign could have been written by me.

He was not spot on, however, in asking whether the bike and sign were actually mine. My lack of street-crossing skills, my poor paying-attention skills, and the fact that I'm not very coordinated all indicate the obvious: I could never ride a bike on city streets.

Some Things

2007-10-15T01:07:00.000-04:00

Something about sitting through an entire movie.
Something about being traumatized by uninvited advice from the clerk at the glasses store. (Has anyone else ever heard this nonsense that your eyes "must" be in the center of each lens?)
Something about propagating plants and picking the last cherry tomato.
Something about marveling at how long my hair has grown. (Past my shoulders.)
Something about doing a bit of work for Brooklyn Vegan.
Something about riding the subway and reading.

Odds

2007-10-12T07:39:00.000-04:00

5A92 is outside my door.
3J92 sits just around the corner.

Tip

2007-10-09T23:07:00.000-04:00

"That isn't a tip," he said, of the four quarters I was handing to him.
"A dollar isn't a tip?" I asked.
He said something nasty about "all that change."
"You're right, it isn't a tip," I said, and I kept it, and I didn't feel bad.

(For the record: it was four quarters; it wasn't like I tried dumping a pile of pennies on him.)

Option

2007-10-05T01:15:00.000-04:00

Maybe you should write it?

Yes, This Is All There Is

2007-10-01T23:39:00.000-04:00

And what if the most exciting thing that happened was that I gave myself a manicure in Sephora? An opaque turquoise shade that I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to buy. They let you do this there, which is weird, because ten fingers and a coat of quick-dry is much more than should be able to be explained away as "just testing it out."

I Didn't Want To Speak Even To Ask For A Receipt

2007-10-01T02:06:00.000-04:00

"This song is for making love, yeah?" he said. "This song is for making love, huh?" he added. "This song is for making lo-ve," he finished.

He repeated this series nine times before I felt like I had to either say something to shut him up or ask him to just let me out where we were, which was, unfortunately, quite far from where I wanted to be.

I said, "I have no interest in discussing such matters with strangers," which seemed, even to me, like an odd thing to say. But then he was silent for the rest of the ride, so it worked.

Things, Some

2007-09-27T02:09:00.000-04:00

Something about "Always Rutgers, Always Coca-Cola."
Something about Shaniqua.
Something about those two being related, but not equally repulsive.

Dance Dance Revolution

2007-09-25T07:06:00.000-04:00

I'm back sooner than I thought, but only because you should probably watch this. Another Dance Blog entry. I'm not sure why I like some of these so much. I don't even like dancing. But I'd love to see what it was like to the passersby who saw them happening without hearing the soundtrack. Those walk-throughs and reactions are the best parts.

I Like This More Than Lip-Dubbing

2007-09-24T23:12:00.000-04:00

I still sort of love this video — "Put You in Your Place" — from Davey Dance Blog.

I loved it a few weeks ago, and meant to post it then, but just found it now, sitting in my drafts folder, while I contemplated what the heck to post. It is great. I think you should watch it. Maybe watch it a few times. It might be a while again before I'm back.

Doctor's Bag

2007-09-18T19:03:00.000-04:00

At first glance, I cannot decide whether this (Dr. Jay Parkinson: I Am A New Kind Of Physician) is brilliant or not. I think it might be brilliant, in that the idea is simple, almost altruistic, and incredibly well-designed. But I've no clue if he's a good doctor. Or maybe this is an art project. I'd like to believe in it, as a reasonable alternative model, though. I think.

(via Personism)

Relative

2007-09-17T01:38:00.000-04:00

fundraising = friendraising

(They really said that. Out loud. And on Powerpoint slide.)

Stuck

2007-09-16T16:43:00.000-04:00

I'm at work, alas, but I think that you really should run or get a ride to the Brooklyn Book Festival to see Ed Park and others talk about how "Everyone's a (Former) Critic." Today, at 5:00 p.m., at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza.

New Year's Resolutions?

2007-09-12T14:21:00.000-04:00

Maybe this time.

Hey, New York, You're Still Beautiful

2007-09-11T22:42:00.000-04:00

It's sort of true. Depending on my mood.

A Lot Of Art Isn't Boring

2007-09-10T10:45:00.001-04:00

Two recently-launched "it's easy to buy art" projects; both are really great. Go buy something:

20x200: "large editions + low prices x the internet = art for everyone"

The Thing (Quarterly): "THE THING is an object based quarterly publication. Each issue of THE THING is conceived of by an individual artist, wrapped by the editors ( Jonn Hershend and Will Rogan ) and sent to the subscribers."

Fashion Weak

2007-09-07T00:59:00.000-04:00

I might break my fashion week ban for Saturday's Threeasfour show.

If I had more time/energy, I'd make room for others: I always like to support Jeremy Laing's show and Michelle at Cynthia Rowley, I rationalize Heatherette because it defines the over-the-topness of the tents, and I actually enjoy something reliable like Marc Jacobs, which is just really nice to shoot.

But I'm growing up. I'm no longer excited by the mess of fashion-related photos that remains on the now-in-progress/transition jensnow.com, so I think it's best not to add too many more to what needs to be sorted out.

Also, remember the last time I said I was giving up on shooting shows, and I was convinced to go see Marc Jacobs, and a young tween vomited on my shoe as I got out of a cab outside of the show? It was a sign. It still sort of is.

Strike

2007-09-06T02:39:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure I agree with the reasoning behind the taxi strike.
(Although Melissa's Op-Ed did more to convince me than the dumb driver who raged recently about my "loss of privacy as an American consumer.")

Related: I'm not actually on strike; I will return to this, I think.

(Right now I'm fixing jensnow.com, which has been left untouched for far too long. Lots of new photos, lots of deletion, etc. It should be done in a few days.)

Things I Don't Understand And Definitely Am Not Going To Talk About

2007-09-03T22:47:00.000-04:00

What will happen now that I'm bored.
How this is going to work.
A new blog.

Me and You and Everyone We Know

2007-08-31T12:59:00.000-04:00

Humblecore.
(Not mumblecore.)

Hack Like Me

2007-08-29T06:43:00.000-04:00

Melissa Plaut's Hack came out yesterday.
I'm excited for her and for you to read it. It's very good.

1234

2007-08-28T07:39:00.000-04:00

I hope you saw Feist and friends clapping on tv last night.
It confirmed what I thought as soon as they started arriving for sound checks on Sunday: such talent and beauty and generousity of time and spirit. It was great to see so many of them together again.

Today we love video: the New York Times at Revenge of the Book Eaters.

I'm Still Not Here

2007-08-24T20:47:00.000-04:00

See previous post.

But first, turn to page E26 of today's New York Times.
That's my photo.
The article is online but the photograph isn't.

Holding the real paper is more fun anyway. You can hang it on your wall.

I'm Not Here

2007-08-21T18:52:00.000-04:00

Because of Revenge of the Book Eaters, I'm not here.

But I do have a moment for:
I'm Not There — the trailer.
Although I might be more excited for the soundtrack.

Threat

2007-08-19T06:10:00.000-04:00

Did I tell you about the time the cab ride ended with two police cars and an escort to watch me walk home? No, I didn't, because I'm too busy talking about it and I really should try to sleep. The tale, tomorrow.

Erasers For Breakfast (Tonight at BAM)

2007-08-15T14:22:00.000-04:00

I Admit I Miss

2007-08-14T01:39:00.000-04:00

I admit I miss knowing that you'd always be there to stop me when I try to cross the street but should really stay on the sidewalk for a few seconds more.

How To Fall Down

2007-08-10T03:06:00.000-04:00

I do this at least once a week. If you've ever walked anywhere with me, you know that I tend slip, wander into things, bump into people, trip and/or fall frequently. But I don't act like half as much of a dolt as this writer. (NYMag)

Man Eater

2007-08-09T04:10:00.000-04:00

One fantastic article about "man" food by Andy Selsberg in The Oxford American: "Are You Macho-Man Enough For Manfood?"

One totally trite article about "man" food in today's New York Times: "Be Yourselves, Girls, Order the Rib-Eye."

(Only Andy's piece was noted on Papercuts, the NYT blog. For good reason.)

Mobile Office*

2007-08-06T05:02:00.000-04:00

Milton Glaser submitted an idea to the city, but while riding in a cab the next day, thought to use I (heart) N.Y. instead. (NY1)

Bonus: Chip Kidd interviews Glaser in an early issue of The Believer.

*At first this was titled, "He Put His Thinking Cab On." I thought better of it and took it down. Under threat, I admit it here.

Things I Don't Understand And Definitely Am Not Going To Talk About

2007-08-03T21:02:00.000-04:00

This was going to be a list, but there might be too many things.

9J75

2007-08-01T02:49:00.000-04:00

MEDALLION# 9J75
DATE: 01/09/2004
START TIME 02:01
END TIME 02:28
TRIP # 2426

You don't want to know where I found it. But I think that it's mine.

I didn't miss this.

Hollyhock House

2007-07-30T03:05:00.000-04:00

The Hollyhock House is amazingly gorgeous, and in this NYT slidehow it's blocked by unnecessary adornment. I'd rather a slideshow of the renovations and recent reopening.